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Master Darque (Valiant Entertainment)
| Aliases = Master Darque Nicky | Universe = | Alignment = | Gender = | Birthplace = Louisiana | Status = | Occupation = | Family = Sandria Darque (twin sister) | Affiliations = | Creators = Bob Hall (original) Yvel Guichet (original) (reboot) (reboot) | First = Original: ( ) Reboot: ( ) | Last = }} Nicodemo Darque, also known as Master Darque, is the world's most powerful necromancer. He has been alive for over a century and spent much of that time exploring the Deadside. His ruthless ambitions have made him an enemy to the superhero Shadowman and the Abettors. He is the twin brother of Sandria Darque. History Nicodemo Darque, and his twin sister Sandria, were born in 1812 Louisiana. They were born albino, and their birth killed their mother, meaning they were raised alone by their power-hungry, magician father. Trained in magic from a young age, Nicodemo and Sandria grew very close. He sought to use his twin children as a focus for a spell that would transport him to Lyceum, another world where he would be a god. Tattooing magic sigils across their bodies, he began the ritual. Sandria, quite painfully, began to be cast into the other plane, and Nicodemo, horrified at the sight of his beloved sister in pain, gathered all his magical strength, and the strength of all life around him, to kill his father. Darque became obsessed with reaching the same plane his father had tried and failed to use him to reach. But while his father sought Lyceum for personal gratification, Nicodemo only wanted more power. This hunt for dark, destructive power led him into conflict with the Shadowmen–a line of men and women devoted to using the powers of darkness to keep more villainous forces from doing the same. After a century of struggling against the Shadowmen and their allies, Darque realized that the key to Lyceum lied within his enemy, and used Shadowman Josiah Boniface to cross into the fabled realm. After a decade of study, as well as destroying the entirety of Lyceum, Darque enlisted a demon named Mister Twist to help him return to his home realm. He and Twist were stopped, however, by the son of the previous Shadowman and current bearer of the mantle, Jack Boniface (Shadowman), who left Darque trapped between worlds. With the aid of a Loa named Baron Samedi, Darque attempted to return the Earth by constructing a dark "soul-spire" designed to break down the walls between worlds. Jack once again stopped the mad necromancer, turning the magics of the soul-spire against their creator, destroying Darque and healing the walls between worlds. Even this was not Darque's end, as in a desperate attempt to discover what had become of his missing father, Jack Boniface restored the Necromancer back to life. However, while he granted Jack his wish, he also bound the Shadowman to his will in exchange. He bound Shadowman, under the identity of "Magpie", in magic chains that kept him subservient. Master Darque had his new servant gather lost Lycean artifacts for him, and terrorize the Deadside. Jack was eventually stopped and freed by British superspy Ninjak, but Darque's schemes continued. Kidnapping a young man named David Dunlow, fated to become the powerful Geomancer, Darque sought to use him to subvert the Geomancer's power and use it to destroy the world. However, his plans were challenged by Tama, a Geomancer from the future. Using her Book of the Geomancer, which recorded all events leading up to her time, Tama knew of the coming of a dark Geomancer called the "Corrupted One", who was Darque empowered with Geomancer's abilities. Tama, alongside her guardian the Eternal Warrior, challenged Nicodemo for the fate of the world. On the verge of victory, Darque was stopped when Tama used her powers of the Earth to transform him into the form of a twisted tree, seemingly killing him forever. Evidently prone to cheating death, Darque once again survived. His dark energies transformed the land around his barky prison into a twisted, evil forest, or "Darquewood". Sandria sent the mystic assassins known as the Shadow Seven to kill him, but Darque, reborn and revitalized by the energies of people killed in the Darquewood, managed to defeat the Seven. Turning what could have been his death into an opportunity, he stole the powers of the Seven he defeated, until their unwilling ally Ninjak managed to plant a bomb on his chest. The atomic-level explosion finally killed Darque, but Sandria stole his bones before they could be confiscated and stored safely by MI-6. Personality Master Darque is a cruel, obsessive man, which stems from his terrible childhood and his exposure to dark magics. This leads him to be manipulative, power-hungry, and quick to anger. Powers and Abilities *'Necromancy': Master Darque has learned and trained in countless magics, both common and obscure, weak and powerful, across his centuries of life :*'Telekinesis': Using his magic, Darque can activate telekinetic abilities of several kinds, including simple pushing of opponents, and stopping bullets with invisible forcefields :*'Flight': Possibly as an extension of his telekinetic abilities, Darque can fly on his own power, without visible wings :*'Pyrokinesis' :*'Energy Projection': Darque can emit and control dark energies of many kinds :*'Plant Manipulation': After joining with the "Darquewood", Darque could manipulate the plants and flora that composed it Equipment Notes * Master Darque plays a large role in the album "Tales from the Deadside" by A Sound of Thunder. While no songs bear his name, "Children of the Dark" is about him and his relationship with his sister Sandria, and Darque plays a large role in the story told by the album. The album itself is a tribute to the hero Shadowman, another Valiant Comics character. Appearances Gallery Cover Art File:Shadowman Vol 4 5 Textless.jpg|' ' ( ) File:Shadowman Vol 4 5 Johnson Variant Textless.jpg|''Shadowman'' (Volume 4) #5 Shadowman Vol 4 9 Textless.jpg|' ' ( ) Shadowman Vol 4 10 Rossmo Variant Textless.jpg|' ' ( ) Book of Death Vol 1 3 Segovia Variant Textless.jpg|' ' ( ) Tales from the Deadside Darque Textless.jpg|''Tales from the Deadside'' ( ) NINJAK 026 VARIANT LAYTON.jpg|' ' ( ) NINJAK 026 COVER-C GILL.jpg|''Ninjak'' (Volume 3) #26 Quotes References External links * Category:Force Fields Category:Shadowman Category:Necromancy Category:Energy Projection Category:Telekinesis Category:Flight Category:Twins Category:Pyrokinesis Category:Nature Manipulation